Cultivated crops have been in evidence in the Central Zone of what is now Chile at least since 1500 B.C., when hunter-gatherers of the Central Andes obtained quinoa grown by early horticulturalist groups on the other side of the Andes. But it was not until around 300 B.C. that the first crops, primarily quinoa and squash, were first grownlocally. At first these products were a minor source of food, and groups living at this time, such as the Bato, continued to subsist much like their hunter-gatherer ancestors did, though unlike their predecessors adopted ceramic making on a large scale.
Over time, however, and especially after corn was introduced, groups such as the Llolleo became almost completely sedentary, although as they had no domestic livestock their protein continued to be supplied by hunting. This way of life enabled these early horticulturalist groups to coexist despite a few notable cultural and economic differences, and that is why contemporary Bato and Llolleo settlements have been found on the El Mercurio newspaper grounds and around the Quinta Normal, both located in the present-day city of Santiago.